Nov 9, 2016 2 min read

CHARLEROI – Captured by German forces during World War II, Pete DeRose was forced to march for as many as 30 miles a day at a prisoner of war camp in Italy.

He and other members of the U.S. Army would sneak into a field to steal potatoes because the food the Germans offered them wasn’t fit for human consumption, his granddaughter, Valentina Gulino, 11, said at a program Wednesday honoring veterans at Charleroi Area High School.

Other days DeRose was stuffed into a dark box with other captured soldiers, leaving him feeling “hopeless’ during the 16 months the rifleman was held prisoner, said Valentina, of Laurel Highlands.

The letter to his family stating he was missing in action arrived on the same day one of his brothers was scheduled for a flight. His brother was excused from duty that day because of the situation, and the plane he should have been on crashed and everyone aboard it was killed, the girl said.

DeRose was transferred upon his release to a base in Oregon, where he worked to train other soldiers, said his daughter, Paula Petrie of Uniontown.

Petrie said her father never discussed his capture with her while she was growing up, that she didn’t learn about it until she was in high school.

“He kept it to himself,” she said. “He said if he had to do it all over he would. He wanted to fight for his country.”

DeRose, of Herbert, Fayette County, broke his hip three years ago and needed to stand with assistance when he was applauded by those who packed the gymnasium at the school.

“I think it’s wonderful,” he said in a soft voice.

Charleroi Area School Board President Ken Wiltz said Superintendent Ed Zelich decided to honor DeRose because the veteran was a POW and there aren’t many World War II veterans left to honor in the Mon Valley.

The Mon Valley does have more veterans per capita than anywhere else in the region, said Washington County Commission Chairman Larry Maggi, a guest speaker at the event.

“You really have a rich history of service here,” Maggi said.